On Tuesday 10 December, the European Commission authorised 400 million euros in public support for the deployment of very high-speed networks in Spain. This scheme will benefit consumers and businesses located in areas of Spain where connectivity is insufficient.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of the Commission, in charge of Competition Policy, said: “This measure will address the digital divide between urban and rural areas in Spain”.
Applied from 2020 to 2022, this scheme aims to address connectivity deficits across Spain and to accelerate coverage with very high speed networks. The objective is to develop networks capable of providing upload and download speeds of 300 megabits per second (Mbps) to target areas, upgradeable to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps). The new networks will cover areas where no high-speed networks with download speeds of at least 30 Mbps are present or expected in the near future. The scheme will also cover regions where such a network is present or planned in the near future, but where there is no network in place or planned that can provide download speeds above 100 Mbps. Public consultations will be conducted to ensure that distortions of competition are kept to a minimum. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)